Federal government shutdown behind us? Not entirely

By Jim T. Ryan,
October 18, 2013 at 11:57 AM

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said today its analysis of the state's September employment situation is “postponed indefinitely” due to the shutdown of the federal government, which reopened this week.

L&I was scheduled to release preliminary employment and unemployment numbers today, but those are derived from federal statistics, which will not be out until Oct. 22.

Federal government offices, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shut down between Oct. 1 and Oct. 16 when Congress couldn't reach agreements on a continuing resolution to fund the government. Democrats and Republicans sparred over a measure from the House of Representatives to connect defunding the Affordable Care Act — also called Obamacare — with funding the government. It ultimately did not succeed.

Earlier this month, business analysts said the unavailability of the national jobs report was less significant because investors and economists are looking at long-term trends anyway.

Security and payroll company ADP released estimates of September's employment situation, in which the U.S. economy added 166,000 jobs. Most were in the services sector.